Something's Not Right

Hehehe looks like the humming birds wearing a Hat of Leafs lol:)

I say we all hop on a plane and visit Di's garden to see all these lovely plants and wildlife! (tho maybe not use Heathrow's new terminal...ha ha)

Come on over ! All are welcome.

It is like magic watching the hummingbirds Buzzbee. I wish you could have the experience. I didn't know, before GOY, that no hummers were in the UK. Is that true for all of Europe, and Asia too?

Another fantastic shot, Diohio. The hummers are great fun to watch and very territorial too.

Yes they are territorial and try like heck to guard a favorite feeder or flower. But imaging 40-50 doing that in one back yard ! It is like Grand Central Station back there and not unusual for one or two to be constantly zippying past your ear or face. I'm just glad they have excellent navigation ! They'll often body-slam each other. And in the spring after the females start arriving, the males will do their pendulum courting ritual. That's a riot !

Always dropping the tidbit...ok I'll bite...what's the pendulum ritual?

Just started getting these birds as regulars last year; before that it was only one now and again. Last year there were about half a dozen at a time at the feeders, so I hope they return again this spring! I haven't seen this flight pattern yet buy I have watched them chase each other out of the area and was surprized at how vocal these little guys are. Up until then I thought it was really just the wing noise that would announce their presence. They are quite bold for their wee size aren't they? My presence on the porch doesn't keep them from visiting the feeders as it does for a lot of the larger birds.

Grammazoo, just keep your feeders out, clean and fresh, and they should return every year. They must eat every few minutes during the day to keep their little bodies going, or else they'll die. So they need a reliable source of food where they nest. And yes, they are quite noisy and very bold for their tiny size. Durinig the summer my yard sounds like it's full of little squeaky dog toys ! And something I've been wanting to try......after you have your regulars for the summer, take in all of the nectar feeders and sit holding a cup of nectar or a feeder. I've seen pics of many people that get them to eat from their hand ! They're not shy at all.

Lori, the "Pendulum Dance" is part of a male's courting ritual. Just imatine a huge "U" in the air......that's the flight pattern of the male. He'll go back and forth like a pendulum, usually right in front of a female that's sitting, watching from a tree branch. They're real show-offs ! I got lucky last summer and managed to video part of the dance.